Spring retractable car key

ABSTRACT

A retractable key holder has a carriage disposed within to which a key is releasably clamped by a shoulder on a shaft threadedly engaged with such carriage and extending exteriorly of the holder. A pair of compression springs are disposed in the body of the holder in parallel relation to the key. Prongs extending from one side of the carriage are engageable with the springs. Pressure applied to an actuator carried by the shaft slides the carriage and the clamped key to an extended position causing the prongs to compress the springs and bias the key toward its retracted position.

United States Patent Dontas [4 1 June 27, 1972 [54] SPRING RETRACTABLECAR KEY [21] App]. No.: 116,191

FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 716,277 911954 Great Britain "70/414Primary Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney-Buckhom, Klarquist & Sparkman[57] ABSTRACT A retractable key holder has a carriage disposed within to[52] U.S.Cl. ..70/4l4,70/456R which a key is releasably clamped by ashoulder on a shaft [51] Int. Cl. ..A47g 29/10, E0517 19/00 threadedlyengaged i such carriage and extending exteri of rly of the holder. Apair of compression springs are disposed in the body of the holder inparallel relation to the key. Prongs [56] References Cited extendingfrom one side of the carriage are engageable with the springs. Pressureapplied to an actuator carried by the UNITED STATES PATENTS shaft slidesthe carriage and the clamped key to an extended 3,421,834 2/1969 Mm, .MMggg' gggg gfg gg gg ggg spmgmd 3,527,072 911970 Demetreon ..v..7o/414 y3,315,505 4/1967 Shelton ..70/456 R 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures IO 34 28u 29 I2 33 I4 17 47 PATENTEDJUN 27 I972 VASSI LIOS K. DONTAS INVENTORBUCKHORN BLORE, KLARQUIST & SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS 1 SPRING RETRACTABLE CARKEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to key holdersand, more particularly to holders for automobile ignition keys.

It is well known that many motorists leave their keys in the ignitionlock when they leave their vehicles. This renders automobile theft easy.Police authorities, insurance companies and other groups concerned ,withdiscouraging automobile theft are concerned with the problem, and areseeking a solution.

This invention, therefore, is directed toward solving the aforesaidproblem by providing an automobile ignition key holder whereby the keywill automatically pop out of the ignition lock and be deposited in themotorists-hand as soon as the key is turned to its off position. Thus,the motorist will be forcibly reminded to place the key in his pocketand not leave it in the ignition of his car.

The primary object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide adevice of the character described wherein the key holder will be small,compact, neat and attractive in appearance.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a devicewherein the travel of the key from its extended position to itsretracted position in the holder is rendered stable such that withdrawalof the key from the ignition will be effective and foolproof.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a holderthat will exert a balanced, direct pull on the key as it is extractedfrom the lock, thereby to reduce the possibility that the key'might becanted angularly in the lock and jammed instead of being pulled free.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The retractable key holder of the presentinvention includes an elongated body member having anextemal endabutment surface'adapted to engage the face of an automobile ignitionlock. The body member is hollow and contains provision for retaining thekey for the lock. As is characteristic of devices of this type, the keyis longitudinally movable from a retracted position entirely within thebody memberto an extended position, projecting outwardly therefromthrough .an aperture formed in the aforesaid end abutment surface.

Carriage means are disposed within the body member and are slidablebetween a first position corresponding to the retracted position of thekey and a second position corresponding to the extended position of thekey.

The key holder further comprises clamping means for clamping the key tothe carriage means. A'pair of compression springs are disposed in thebody member in parallel relation to the key, the springs beingpositioned equidistantly of the longitudinal centerline of the bodymember and on one side of the carriage means.

Spring engaging means are disposed on the carriage means and areengageable with the compression springs. A rigid operating member isattached to the carriage means and extends exteriorly of the bodymember. Pressure applied to the operating member to slide the carriagemeans from its first position to its second position causes thespring-engaging means to compress the springs and bias the key from itsresulting extended position toward its retracted position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top or plan view of thekey holder of the present invention, the phantom lines indicating theposition of the key in its extended position.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away of the keyholder illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale taken on line 3-3 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view to the same scale as FIG. 3 taken on line 4-4of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the key holder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, theretractable key holder 10 of the present invention includes a bodymember or case 11 formed of a base portion 12 and a cover portion 13which mate to form a hollow interior 14 into which an automobile key 15is receivable. The body member 11 has parallel flat opposite sides 16bounded by parallel opposite side edges 17 and opposite end edges 18.One of the end edges 19 is provided with an aperture 20 through whichthe key 15 is movable inwardly and outwardly of the case.

A slideable carriage 22 is disposed within the hollow interior 14 of theholder and the key'15 is clamped to the carriage 22 by an operatingshaft 23 threadedly attached to the carriage 22 and extendableexteriorly of the case.

A tapered actuator 24 is press-fit onto the upper portion 25 of theshaft 23, being received on friction grooves 26.'Pressure applied to theshaft 23 by means of the actuator 24thus slides the key '15 and carriage22 from a first or retracted position within the case to a second orextended position as shown in the phantom lines in FIGS. 1-3.

Springs 28 received in longitudinally extending bores 29 in the baseportion 12 of the case 11 are engaged by a pair of prongs 30 extendingfrom the lower side 31 of the carriage 22, each of the prongs 30 beingengageable with a respective one of the springs 28. Thus as the carriageand key are moved to their extended positions, the prongs 30 engage thesprings 28 to compress the same and bias the key 15 from its extendedposition toward its retracted position.

The base portion 12 of the case is generally rectangular in shape. Thelongitudinally extending bores 29 are positioned equidistantly of thelongitudinal centerline 32 and are parallel to the lower side 31 of thecarriage 22. Each of the bores 29 extends substantially the full lengthof the case, but each is closed at its ends. The upper portion of eachbore 29 is slotted through, as at 33, to a width less than that of: thediameter thereof to retain thesprings therein and yet permit the prongs30 to' contact the ends thereof. Each of the springs 28 is provided withastop 34 at its end against which the prongs 30 may bear during theaforesaid compression.

The base portion 12 of the holder is provided with a longitudinallycentered recess 35 to accommodate a key or guide 36 on thecarriage 22,therebyprecisely to guide the latter as it slides on the upper surface37 of the base portion 12 from the first to its second positionsheretofore described. The base portion 12 is further provided with anadditional longitudinally centered clearance slot 38 to providenecessary clearance for the threaded end 39 of the shaft 23.

As mentioned previously, the carriage 22 is provided with two dependingprongs 30 from its lower surface 31, which prongs 30 are adapted tocontact the stops 34 positioned at the ends of the springs 28. Furtherdepending from the lower surface 31 of the carriage 22 is theaforementioned key or guide 36 which is receivable in the recess 35 andwhich serves more precisely to guide the carriage 22 along the baseportion 12.

The carriage 22 is provided with a threaded aperture 40 to receive thethreaded end 39 of the shaft 23. The latter is also provided with anannular integral shoulder 41 approximately midway of its length. The key15 is received between the upper surface 42 of the carriage 22 and theshoulder 41. A fiber washer 43 is placed on the upper surface 42 and theshaft 23 is screwed into the aperture 40 snugly to retain the key 15between the shoulder 41 and the surface 42. The bottom 44 of the shaft23 is provided with a slot so that the key may be clamped between theshoulder 41 and the surface 42.

The cover portion 13 is provided with a downwardly depending peripheralflange 46 adapted to mate with a corresponding upwardly projecting lip47 on the periphery of the base portion 12 in an interference f t. Thecover portion 13 is further provided with a longitudinally centeredrecess 48 to receive the key 15. A further longitudinally centeredrecess 49 is provided to receive the shoulder 41 on the shaft 23.Additionally the cover portion is slotted as at 50 through which slot 50the upper portion 25 of the shaft 23 extends and along which slot theactuator 24 may travel.

The upper portion 25 of the shaft 23 further is stepped to form ashoulder 52 against which the actuator 24 may bottom. The actuator 24itself is provided with a projection 53 on its lower surface 54 to ridein the slot 50 so as to stabilize its travel as the key and carriage aremoved against the pressure provided by the springs 28.

The carriage 22 is plan form is cut to form a V trailing edge 56 so thata key chain (not shown) may be passed through access holes 57 formed inthe base and upper portions of the case 11.

In operation, the device is placed adjacent the ignition switch of anautomobile. The driver moves the actuator 24 toward the right hand sideof the device as shown in the drawings, thereby causing the key 15 toslide outwardly of the case 11 and into the ignition switch. Since anautomobile key cannot be withdrawn from the ignition lock when the keyis turned to the on" position, the retracting pressure exerted by thesprings 28 causes the end abutment surface 19 of the case to bearagainst the face of the lock, snugly retaining the assembly in position.When the key is turned to the off position, it is readily retractedoutwardly from the switch.

The provision of the carriage 22 in combination with the equidistantspacing of the compression springs 28 parallel to the line of travel ofthe key 15 results in a smooth stable withdrawal of the key from thelock. The resultant automatic withdrawal leaves the key and the casefree in the hand, and the driver is thus forcibly reminded that heshould take the key with him when he leaves the vehicle.

The provision of the key or guide 36 on the lower surface 31 of thecarriage provides for a smooth travel thereof within the body of theholder. The location of the prongs 30 equidistantly of the longitudinalcenterline 32 and their action on the two parallel springs 28 furtherprovides for a balanced direct pull on the key in extracting the samefrom the lock. The resulting assembly thus provides a smoothly operatingdevice which will reliably insure the retraction of the key 15 from thelock each time the ignition is turned off.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it is tobe understood that such changes will be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as it is defined by the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a retractable key holder including an elongated body member havingan external end abutment surface adapted to engage the face of a lock,said body member being hollow and containing a key for said lock, saidkey being longitudinally movable from a retracted position entirelywithin said body member to an extended position projecting outwardlyfrom said body member through an aperture formed in said end abutmentsurface,

carriage means disposed within said body member and slidable between afirst position corresponding to said retracted position of said key anda second position corresponding to said extended position of said key;

clamping means for clamping said key to said carriage means;

a pair of compression springs disposed in said body member in parallelrelation to said key, said springs being positioned equidistantly of thelongitudinal centerline of said body member and on one side of saidcarriage means;

spring engaging means disposed on said carriage means and engageablewith said compression springs; and

a rigid operating member attached to said carriage means and extendingexteriorly of said body member, whereby pressure applied to saidoperating member to slide said carriage means from said first positionto said second position causes said spring engaging means to compresssaid springs and bias said key from its resulting extended positiontowards its retracted position.

2. A retractable key holder as in claim 1 in which sai operating membercomprises a shaft threadedly received in said carriage means.

3. A retractable key holder as in claim 2 in which said clamping meanscomprises a shoulder on said shaft, said key being releasably clampedbetween said shoulder and said carriage means as said shaft isthreadedly engaged with said carriage means.

4. A retractable key holder as in claim 1 in which said spring engagingmeans comprise a pair of prongs extending from said one side of saidcarriage means, each of said prongs being engageable with a respectiveone of said compression springs.

5. A retractable key holder as in claim 1 in which said operating memberis attached to said carriage means on the other side thereof.

1. In a retractable key holder including an elongated body member havingan external end abutment surface adapted to engage the face of a lock,said body member being hollow and containing a key for said lock, saidkey being longitudinally movable from a retracted position entirelywithin said body member to an extended position projecting outwardlyfrom said body member through an aperture formed in said end abutmentsurface, carriage means disposed within said body memBer and slidablebetween a first position corresponding to said retracted position ofsaid key and a second position corresponding to said extended positionof said key; clamping means for clamping said key to said carriagemeans; a pair of compression springs disposed in said body member inparallel relation to said key, said springs being positionedequidistantly of the longitudinal centerline of said body member and onone side of said carriage means; spring engaging means disposed on saidcarriage means and engageable with said compression springs; and a rigidoperating member attached to said carriage means and extendingexteriorly of said body member, whereby pressure applied to saidoperating member to slide said carriage means from said first positionto said second position causes said spring engaging means to compresssaid springs and bias said key from its resulting extended positiontowards its retracted position.
 2. A retractable key holder as in claim1 in which said operating member comprises a shaft threadedly receivedin said carriage means.
 3. A retractable key holder as in claim 2 inwhich said clamping means comprises a shoulder on said shaft, said keybeing releasably clamped between said shoulder and said carriage meansas said shaft is threadedly engaged with said carriage means.
 4. Aretractable key holder as in claim 1 in which said spring engaging meanscomprise a pair of prongs extending from said one side of said carriagemeans, each of said prongs being engageable with a respective one ofsaid compression springs.
 5. A retractable key holder as in claim 1 inwhich said operating member is attached to said carriage means on theother side thereof.